


dawn after the long dark

by n7punk



Series: Outside of the War - She-ra canon stories [16]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Fluff, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Recovery, Slice of Life, Therapy Cat Melog (She-Ra), Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25830736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/n7punk/pseuds/n7punk
Summary: Rebuilding is hard. Catra did not lie to herself that it would not be. Some day she slides forward, some days backwards. Today is one of the days where she cannot help but flinch at the reminder of every issue she has caused, everything she must now fix. She has to if she does not want to be consumed by guilt.Again.(Or, a day in Melog’s life).
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: Outside of the War - She-ra canon stories [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1793227
Comments: 22
Kudos: 308





	dawn after the long dark

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to a day in Melog’s life, because the fandom does not give them enough love. Admittedly, I have completely forgotten to include them in a scene many times, BUT I have my own therapy animal who I love and could not do without so I just have a lot of Thoughts of Melog.  
> Shifting POV but primarily Catra.

Catra wakes up to dawn light reflecting in her eyes, causing her to groan and roll mindlessly _away_. Or at least, try to. During the night, Melog has crawled up from their usual spot draped across her and Adora's legs to plaster across her chest. Catra vaguely recalls having some nightmares last night that thankfully fled her mind as soon as sleep had slipped away. Melog was probably trying to comfort her – and apparently it worked.

She still does not want them there _now_ , trapping her in the sunlight. She reaches down, growling lightly as she blindly strokes the top of Melog’s head trying to rouse them, her eyes still squeezed shut against the light.

“You haven’t even opened your eyes yet, how are you already fussy?” Adora teases beside her with a yawn. Her voice is thick with sleep. Catra feels arms coming around her, pulling her closer to Adora’s side even under Melog’s heavy weight. She turns her head into the darkness of Adora’s neck gladly, letting a satisfied rumble spill through as Adora begins stroking the fur along the ridge of her spine.

“Light,” she mutters, with a level of bitterness she usually reserves only for herself. Adora laughs, a sound filled with happiness and love, even when laced with the rasp of sleep.

“Funny how that happens every morning,” she rumbles, squeezing Catra closer as her hands drift lower down her back. Melog purrs in Catra’s lap, apparently awake now she does not need them to move.

 _Perfect timing_ , she thinks, no actual bitterness behind the message. A feeling of satisfaction rolls through her companion, content in their choice of wake-up times. Melog stretches above her, slowly lifting off of her and standing to retreat to the foot of the bed again. Catra peeks her eyes open to glance down at them as they turn in slow circles, preparing to lie down again. She fixes them with a look, a thought, her _intent_ , and they pause, turning to look at her. Melog blinks slowly at her as Adora’s hands reach her lower back in their slow path down.

 _At breakfast_ , they agree to meet again, and Melog turns to hop from the bed. They stroll to the door, Catra watching as they nudge it open and go. Purring, she turns back to Adora and presses an absolutely indecent kiss against her lips.

\--

Bow is not looking where he is going, not really. He hardly ever is when he is in the castle. He knows the hallways well. He can easily get around while focusing on the conversation he is having, easily navigate with his vision obscured by a stack of blueprints, or even, as he is right now, while he is ingesting the data on his tracker pad. He probably would not have any problem, even with a temporary, out-of-place obstacle appearing in his path – if that obstacle were not invisible.

Bow walks straight into a large, invisible lump. His tracker pad goes skittering away, he nearly falls over, and the yelp he releases is entirely undignified. As he catches himself, Melog solidifies before him, blinking curiously up at him, almost like they are surprised Bow has walked into their _invisible_ mass splayed out in the center of the hallway.

“Uh, hi, Melog? What are you doing?” Bow asks, blinking down at the hulking space cat. Melog just slowly blinks back, standing slowly and bending their head down towards where Bow’s pad has fallen. “I see it, um, thank you,” Bow tells them, reaching down to pick up the device. Melog continues to just stand there, apparently content in the middle of the hall.

Okay, weird. Except, not really that weird? Melog tends to wander the castle on their own in the mornings and evenings. Bow _knows_ this, even if he has not really _seen_ it. Catra and Adora have told him, and Glimmer has seen them wandering once or twice. It occurs to Bow suddenly that maybe the reason he has not actually witnessed this is because Melog usually does this while cloaked.

“Melog, do you have a reason for hiding right now?” Bow questions, tucking his tracker pad under his arm. The data can wait until after breakfast, anyway. He does not have to make a decision on his proposal until the evening meeting, and he already got up an hour early to work on it.

Melog lets out a dismissive noise, halfway between a meow and a growl, that Bow takes as a firm _no_. Perhaps even an _I’m not hiding_ , despite the evidence to the contrary. Bow feels his hand drift to his chin as he considers the situation.

“Are you… enjoying laying in the hallway?” Bow tries, instead. This would be so much easier with Catra here, but at this time of day she usually is still asleep. He certainly is not going to poke the magicat before she is ready to face the day – and if Adora is still asleep by some miracle, he does not want to wake her either. Besides, this probably is not really _important_ , just a quirk of a magical space cat.

Melog blinks at Bow. It is not a no – probably – but it does not seem like a yes, either. Bow releases a sigh. This _would_ be easier with Catra here, but – he could just try to do what Catra would. She cares about the space cat, and Bow does not really know if Melog can get too distressed on their own, but this does not seem like average morning behaviour. He wants to make sure Melog is happy.

Bow does not know that much about Melog besides their backstory, not really. Catra does, clearly, but she has not been particularly forthcoming on much about them without prompting. She seems to share such a connection with the creature that she just does not consider that others cannot understand them like she can. What Bow knows about Melog is mostly limited to what he has experienced through Catra in the last few weeks since the end of the war.

“Melog, want to go to the gardens with me? It might be nice to start my day by spending some time outside. Besides, I can work on this from anywhere,” Bow tells the creature, gesturing to the tracker pad beneath his arm. Melog’s ears perk up, a pleased _mrph_ spilling forth as they instantly start to set off down the hall. Bow blinks after them for a moment before remembering to start following.

Almost every day since arriving in Bright Moon, Catra has taken Melog for a walk in the castle gardens, just the two of them – plus Adora, occasionally. Given Melog’s reaction, Bow can only _assume_ Melog enjoys it, though it seems to calm Catra as well.

Bow sets off after Melog, following them out to the castle gardens and finding them rolling on the grass in the early morning sun. It is just so _cute_ , Melog on their back with their tail waving happily, that Bow has to coo. Unlike their owner – partner? Master? Friend? Bow should definitely ask Catra about this, because some of those seem offensive, if they are inaccurate – Melog has no hang-ups about being cute and just chirps happily from their spot on their back.

Bow cannot resist the soft kitty tummy anymore, and crouches down to give Melog pats.

\--

Catra curls her lip in amusement when she walks into breakfast - hanging off Adora’s arm because she _can_ , she is allowed – and she sees an unmistakable paw impression in red on Bow stomach. Melog is lying on the floor, draped around the set of chairs she and Adora usually use, but they lift their head when Catra enters. They make eye contact, a thread passing between them for a moment, and then Catra cackles quietly to herself at the image that forms in her mind.

“I thought Adora had the talk with you about leaving a cat’s stomach alone, Bow,” Catra tells him as she and Adora sit. She watches Adora’s eyes find the impression on Bow’s stomach. Her girlfriend stifles a snort of laughter, busying herself with gathering food on their plates to hide the suppressed smirk.

Bow looks _distraught_. Glimmer laughs in her seat beside him. “I know, but it was just so _tempting_! And Melog is so sweet! I didn’t think they would do it!” Bow complains - whines, really.

“Hey, you are lucky you didn’t get claws,” Adora tells him around a horrifyingly-large mouthful of food. Catra grunts in disgust at her girlfriend. They are still holding hands beneath the table; just because she loves her does not mean she has to endorse her bottomless-pit-style eating habits.

 _No claws_ , Melog points out in a chirp behind her. Catra rolls her eyes.

“She was talking about me,” she shoots over her shoulder to them. Melog flicks an ear in acknowledgement, standing from their curled position to circle around the chairs more properly and lay their head in Catra’s lap. “Not now. During the meeting,” she promises them. She likes to pet Melog – they both get a wave of calm from it, the soothing effect they both feel amplified by the other – but she needs a hand to eat, and a hand for Adora, right now. Adora won’t be in the meeting – she would be useless when it comes to the intricacies of repairing a ravaged kingdom – and Catra probably won’t need to do anything else with her hands, either. She will be free to pet Melog for the entire time.

Glimmer snaps her fingers, commanding her attention, and immediately launches into a tirade about what they need to do that day when Catra looks at her. In her lap, Melog nuzzles their head in deeper as she and Glimmer discuss what matters she needs Catra to handle for her today.

\--

The meeting goes well - enough. Catra settles in a vacant chair beside Glimmer that she does not know the origin of, but has been made available to her ever since Glimmer essentially adopted her as an advisor on the first day after the Heart. It had become quickly clear that the same skills she used to lead an army were useful in leading a kingdom out of war. She and Glimmer work – effectively together, if not well. They will get there eventually, though, Catra can already tell. When they do fight or clash, Bow and Adora pull them each aside and soothe them until they are ready to try again.

In the meantime, Melog settles in her lap as a steady comfort. Sometimes they lounge invisibly in these meetings, but today they do not seem bothered. They are shrunk down to drape across Catra’s lap beneath the table, Catra absently petting between their ears. Melog’s tail slowly swishes back and forth as Glimmer rattles off the agenda for the meeting.

Catra does not need Melog’s shifting tail or slowly pulsing mane to tell her that her anxiety is climbing – she knows. She also cannot let it get the better of her, not here, in this room surrounded by so many important people who she has made the lives of hell for the last three years. These people who have been dealing with the issues she has caused a lot longer than she has. She forces herself to stop counting how many of the problems the meeting must discuss were caused directly by her. It won’t help – won’t help them find solutions, and won't help her calm her rising nerves. They have stuck with her this long, they aren't going to leave her over the past now, she reminds herself.

 _Breathe_. She does. She focuses on keeping her breathing steady, calm, as she slowly strokes between Melog’s ears and listens. She does not give much creative input in the meeting, too focused on calming her rising nerves, but she manages to volunteer plenty of the tangled web of information in her mind whenever it becomes relevant.

By the time the meeting is adjourned, her fur feels like it is itching.

 _Outside_. Yeah, they are right. Catra turns to Glimmer.

“Want to have our wrap-up discussion while walking? Melog wants to see some sun.”

\--

Catra was doing okay in the meeting. She is not doing okay, now.

Rebuilding is hard. She did not lie to herself that it would not be. Some days she slides forward, some days backwards. Today is one of the days where she cannot help but flinch at the reminder of every issue she has caused, everything she must now fix.

Glimmer chatters rather happily about the decisions they were able to make in the meeting, thinking out loud with Catra more as a sounding board than anything else. They stroll through the castle gardens, no real destination in mind, just looking for a momentary escape before they have to retreat to Glimmer’s office to put their decisions into action.

Catra tries not to flinch at her words, tries to soak in the calming breeze, fresh air, and warm sun. She tries to focus on Melog’s calming presence-

Melog is not here anymore, she realizes. She stops dead in her tracks, turning around and blinking at the empty air where they had stood. Distantly, she becomes aware of Glimmer calling out to her.

A touch lands on her shoulder and she startles, claws extending as she flings herself backwards, hissing. She just barely manages to keep her arms - her claws - at her sides. She finds herself blinking back at a startled Glimmer. She reactively shrinks away, forcing her fur to lie down again, her claws to retract.

“Melog is gone,” she mutters, wrapping an arm around herself. It is not an apology, but at least it is an explanation. In truth, if she had not already been wound so tight, this would mean little to her. Melog is their own being, magical imprint or not. Occasionally they wander off without Catra requesting it, chasing the thrill of other life existing around them. They never go very far. Usually Catra feels their intent to leave, but when she doesn't it does not tend to bother her. Today, however, the lump in her throat is too large for her words.

\--

Adora _was_ in Bow’s lab, putting a concerted effort into listening to Bow go over his tech distribution plan to help unite the various kingdoms and their towns. It is important, she knows. A proposal he has been working on since even before Prime landed. It got abandoned when Bright Moon did. Now, post-war, the plan is just as necessary, if more focused on rebuilding efforts and harmony than tracking Horde activities.

Adora also knows that the technical aspects of this plan – what tech is most important, who should get it in what order – are beyond her. Still, it helps Bow to talk about it with someone. He could use his recorder, but he is not Entrapta and a living person seems more effective for him. Besides, Adora is going to be helping to build many of the communications hubs as She-ra so the large arrays can be put up quickly without the need for additional construction equipment. It is important that she understand as much of the plan as possible if she is going to help.

Those are all the things she tells herself as she tries to force herself to not just listen to Bow’s words but actually understand them. It works until the second a distraction walks into the room.

Melog comes bounding into the room at just short of a sprint. Bow and Adora both startle, but Melog seems unbothered as they rush towards Adora and then gently butt their head against her side.

“What is with them today? I found them wandering cloaked before breakfast, and now they are – I don’t know, nuzzling you?” Bow questions, gesturing at the space cat. Melog huffs, bumping their head into Adora’s side again. Adora reaches down and tries to pet them, but they just pull their head back and bump her again, force increased this time.

“They _always_ go wandering when Catra and I are kissing. Catra says they do it invisibly sometimes because they are still getting used to being around other people. It is harder for them when Catra isn’t around,” Adora explains, frowning down at Melog. Bow flushes in her periphery and she suddenly becomes aware that he was not privy to that first piece of information. She would worry about it if Melog was not being so insistent. “You don’t want pets, so what is wrong?” she asks them.

Melog blinks up at her and then opens their mouth, mewing once before turning and running back towards the door. They pause, tail swishing, and look back at Adora.

“You want me to follow?” Adora guesses, squinting after them. Melog lets out a pleased chirp and continues out the door. Adora sends an apologetic shrug to Bow and then goes after them.

She could wait to learn about the plan until the proposal was finalized, anyway. Or never.

\--

Catra is – not listening to Glimmer, and they both know it. She only realizes they both know it when it occurs to her that Glimmer has been silent for several minutes, a long stretch for her at any time, but especially when sorting through documents. She usually complains the whole time. Catra bites her lip but does not look up. She can feel Glimmer’s eyes settling on her, occasionally.

Catra sighs when she feels Glimmer's eyes dart to her again. “I’m fine – to work, at least. Let’s just get this done, okay, Sparkles?” Catra asks, finally looking up to meet eyes with the queen. Catra is not fine and they both know it. The meeting already put her on edge. The walk threatened to send her spiraling. Once Melog vanished that wrote the rest of the day off for her. She hasn't gotten _worse_ , but she knows she won't get better without them - not today. Best if no one tries to interact with her and they just leave her to work. She ran an army through a mental breakdown – she can manage supply requisitions on a bad day. Interacting with people, she sometimes can't do without hurting someone on a good day. “I only have the bandwidth for this right now,” Catra settles on saying, gesturing to the pile between them.

Glimmer looks unconvinced, and a little distressed, but she nods. If she were Bow, or even Adora, they would tell her to take a break, let herself just have an off day. Bow would not even be a hypocrite for saying it. But Glimmer gets it, gets her. Her mistakes and selfish pride that led to her _needing_ to set things right. So she nods, and returns to her own work. Catra narrows her focus back down to the work before her, forcing herself not to count the minutes since Melog disappeared and they returned to Glimmer’s office.

There is a thud at the door and a wave of relief hits Catra before she even looks up. When she does look up, it becomes a tsunami. She knew it, felt them, smelled _her_. 

Adora hurries into the office on Melog’s heels, open concern written on her face as she takes in the scene. Glimmer startles at the intrusion but Catra just sighs, relieved. As Adora wordlessly makes her way to Catra’s side around the table, Catra looks down to Melog.

Thank you and agreement pass between them. Melog purrs, stepping forward to drape themselves across Catra’s feet as she stands – but does not move – to let Adora sit down in the chair with her. She settles back in her girlfriend’s arms, breathing in deeply as she settles. There isn't really room for two people, but Catra is more than happy to settle in Adora's lap.

“Shitty day?” Adora asks, a touch playful, mostly concerned. Trying to joke cautiously.

“Completely average,” Catra tells her, honestly. Things are just _getting_ to her more than normal, today. She makes eye contact with Glimmer and the queen nods to her, a small, relieved smile on her face.

Adora hums in acknowledgement as she presses a kiss to the side of Catra’s jaw. She doesn't ask for further clarification - she doesn't need to. Her girlfriend’s mere presence, Melog’s return – they are not enough to stop the warring emotions within her, but they let her relax into the touch of a loved one, quieting the storm.

Catra breathes, and relaxes beneath the weight of Melog at her legs, soaking in the warmth of her girlfriend.

\--

By the time of the evening Alliance meeting, Catra has settled, somewhat. Today was mostly an off-day for Adora. She had some people and projects to check in on, but after Melog fetched her she stayed with Catra for the rest of the day. She was thoroughly useless as an assistant aside from being an extra pair of hands, but her presence soothed Catra – and Glimmer, it seemed. Or maybe she was just able to relax once Catra was not a hair away from a breakdown.

Catra has her own chair at the war table, now, largely at Frosta’s insistence. Not that any of the other princesses – aside from Adora – had _complained_ when she proposed it. Catra had spent the first few days post-war in Adora’s lap at these things, largely because someone needed to force Adora to be still and let her body rest, but also because she _wanted_ to be.

They can give her her own chair all they like. They can even make her sit in it – she still is all over Adora in these meetings. She lounges, just a bit, in her seat so she can lean over the armrest into Adora’s space. She drapes her tail across Adora's lap and uses the hand she isn’t leaning against to idly trace lines up and down Adora’s arm on the armrest beside her.

If she had done this a month ago, She-ra would likely have made a surprise appearance at the affection. Now, Adora just sighs happily and settles against the back of her chair, radiating _contentment_. The meeting is good - for real, this time. Catra has clawed her way back from whatever precipice she was teetering over this morning. She feels drained, ready for dinner and then _bed_ , but she is able to idly let the reports from the kingdoms wash over her despite the various distractions present.

Distractions like Swift Wind, here for _some_ reason, standing and occasionally not-so-subtly stomping his hooves. He has been making a racket about not having his own chair ever since Catra got one. Catra pointed out he was a _horse_ and he seemed to get offended at that. Apparently it was a long-standing issue with him. No one else seems bothered by it - not even Adora. It sends a smug thrill through Catra.

Entrapta also brought Emily, which makes Catra wince, a bit. The bot seems to hold no hard feelings, though Catra suspects she is perfectly capable of doing so. Emily is at least quiet for the meeting except to swivel her gaze around the table. Catra is just relieved Entrapta did not bring _Hordak_. She had brought up “re-integrating him into society” at the last meeting, which had been met with a resounding _no_. His “community service research” may be useful, but no one is really prepared to deal with him yet. Or maybe ever.

The meeting ticks by slowly, and Catra is shocked to find herself starting to drift off. A light nudge at the corners of her minds brings her back without startling her. She nudges Melog with her foot thankfully where they are splayed out beneath the table.

She does not know if she started drifting just because of how exhausting her day has been, or if it is a testament to how _safe_ she is starting to feel here, despite everything, that she can allow herself to rest out in the open, in front of other people - people she has even tried to hurt before. Maybe it is just the calm of Melog’s comforting presence, with Adora’s warmth radiating against her side, that lets her feel secure enough to start to drift. She pulls herself back to wakefulness, but - it feels nice.

\--

Swift Wind stays for dinner, complaining he hasn’t gotten to see Adora lately. Catra does not know where Swift Wind is when he is not working for the Alliance - where he goes most of the time. She refuses to expend the mental energy on him to find out.

Catra is trying, okay? But it is hard. Hard to change one thing, hard to change _everything_ , hard to find out who she even is as a person beneath all the anger. Jealousy is such a deep-rooted part of her, a protection technique to guard what little she was able to scrape together as _hers_. She is tired, and it is so hard to fight this ingrained instinct even on her good days. An even more selfish part of her doesn't _want_ to.

She knows Swift Wind is not a threat to her relationship with Adora, not really. But Swift Wind does not like her, and he is loud, and brash, and colourful, and self-righteous, and _annoying_ – and he was with Adora, during the war, when she could not be. He has some kind of bond with Adora, and that was always _their_ thing. They have been able since childhood to look at each other and understand each other. They even made a secret language of subtle body movements used to signal each other as kids. Adora and Swift Wind have some _magic bullshit_ that just showed up out of nowhere one day, without the years of hard work towards almost-understanding she and Adora put in together that _still_ led to catastrophic misunderstandings.

Luckily for her, the feeling is not one-sided. Catra and Swift Wind do not like each other. She doesn't know why Swift Wind doesn't like her - though she does not have to _guess_ to know it has to do with the war, and maybe a bit with Adora as well - but she does not care to worry about it. Their mutual dislike is distressing to Adora, so Catra tries to stamp it down, outwardly at least. Swift Wind tries not to talk to her at all to stop them from provoking each other. It is as close to a compromise as they get.

“Adora, you would call Swift Wind your friend, right?” Bow asks over dinner and Catra stills, narrowing her eyes at her plate. She feels her ears flattening and forces herself to resume eating to at least downplay her visible reaction. Melog’s mane has not changed hues, at least.

 _He is curious_ , Melog mews. He is not trying to needle at her, fly their _sacred bond_ or whatever in her face. Bow is a bit of an idiot, but he is not _trying_ to be cruel. She swallows down her emotions, reaching out towards Melog to thank them for the reassurance.

Adora blinks up at Bow and then glances between Catra and Swift Wind. Swift Wind looks _offended_.

“Yes?” Adora tries, confusion evident. “What else would I call him?”

“Horsey,” Catra coughs a reminder into her hand, absorbing the glare Adora sends her way with a satisfied smirk. Swift Wind narrows his eyes at her from across the table. Neither of them says anything more, though they both _want_ to. Adora told Catra the story of how she and Swift Wind met, and then immediately regretted letting slip that the first choice of name had bothered him.

“Well, I was just wondering what we should refer to Melog as for Catra, but then it occurred to me that you already have a magical animal companion, so we kind of have a precedent already!” Bow explains, twirling his fork in the air as he talks. Normally when he does that gesture it is with a screwdriver or a similar tool, not a _loaded fork_. A bite of food goes twirling off into the distance, startling Glimmer as it flies past her. Bow winces at the stain on the wall, putting his fork down apologetically.

Swift Wind draws a deep breathe to begin one of his tirades, and Catra feels her fur begin to bristle.

“I am not just her friend! I am She-ra’s noble steed, bound to her with a sacred bond! We have a connection, we are rider and steed, but we are more! You cannot compare us-“ Swift Wind starts, wings flaring as he talks.

“ _Melog_ ,” Catra cuts in, doing a frankly stellar job of not gritting her teeth given the day she has had already, “is my _partner_ and companion,” she explains, glaring indistinctly at the wall, instead of at Swift Wind or Bow directly. “We don’t need any other fancy names. We understand each other.”

Melog chirps agreement from where their head is rested in her lap. Catra feels herself let out a breath in some unspoken form of relief. She reaches down with her free hand to pet her _partner_. She left off the _in crime_ she often attaches to that statement, but she can only do so much in a day. Catra pretends not to preen as Adora shoots Swift Wind a warning glare when he puffs up at the jab. Yeah, she should not do it, but she has had a _day_ , and he started it. Actually, if you go back far enough, maybe she did, but - she suddenly seems to have a very specific case of memory loss.

In her lap, Melog’s purr betrays her satisfaction at Adora siding with her. Catra does not bother to look ashamed.

\--

Catra stretches out on their ridiculously large poof of a bed, relaxing into the soft comfort with a single contented rumble. Melog rumbles in response, jumping up after her.

“You two are so cute,” Adora says, because apparently she has a death wish, as Melog settles to drape over Catra’s stomach. Melog nuzzles into the silk of her – well, Adora’s – sleep shirt and purrs.

“You have seven seconds to take that back,” Catra promises her, voice unbothered. Despite it still being early in the evening, she is too tired to move and they both know it. She does not open her eyes or even shift her limbs. Melog continues to purr in her lap. _Shut up_. It does not work – they continue to betray her contentment at Adora’s words. Catra peeks an eye open to see Melog’s mane has settled a rather light gray – _pink,_ so flustered – and she knows she has been blushing the entire time.

Adora says nothing. Catra frowns, turning her head on the pillow to see Adora sending her a shit-eating grin from where she is hunched over her desk, working on her star charts. Catra realizes that while she has been paying attention to Melog time has been passing. The seven seconds are up, and Adora’s grin has only spread wider. “Oh, shit,” she mutters. Adora _laughs_ , lighting up and flushing as the sound fills the room, if just for a moment. Catra turns her head to glare down at Melog. “Melog, attack,” she orders, pointing in Adora’s direction. Melog huffs a little, standing, and then jumps off the bed to saunter over to Adora. When they reach her, they place their front paws in her lap, lifting themselves up to lick her face.

Adora’s laugh only gets louder. Catra pretends she cannot see her own flustered blush rising in the intensity of Melog’s hue.

\--

Adora eventually gives up on her maps and charts, changing and joining Catra in the bed. Catra settles in to happily curl around her side, wrapping her arms, legs, _tail_ around Adora and purring as she settles her head into the pillows. Adora just hums happily as Melog settles to drape across their tangled legs, a heavy blanket of security and comfort. It has been a trying day, but curling into her girlfriend’s side, relaxing under the comforting weight against her legs, Catra feels-

 _Okay_. It might not be good, it might not be perfect, but it _can be_ on some days. Today just was not one of them. Nothing bad happened. The world didn’t end, a battle didn’t start, and a war wasn’t lost. For three years there, just _okay_ was a rarity, forget about making it all the way to _good_.

So Catra feels _okay_ , and she revels in the luxury that is, to simply be, and know that tomorrow she could be worse – but she also could be better. Regardless, she knows she has people around her who will help her and hold her close.

Melog purrs as they drift off to sleep together.

**Author's Note:**

> Me a few weeks ago: I probably won’t include Catra being [colourblind](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25535140) in my canon fics since it technically isn’t canon even if it is compliant.  
> Me now: What is pink explain it to me.  
> I’m sorry about the Swift Wind hate, I just feel like he and Catra would not get along AT ALL at first.  
> Set roughly a month after the war, a few days/a weekish after Catra and Adora’s first time.


End file.
